Mass effectOrigins
by Urdnot Goat
Summary: The rise of John Shepard. T just in case, wanted to explore shepards background,Earthborn/warhero. constructive criticism welcome, still new to writing
1. Chapter 1

**-April 11-2154-2:20AM-**

It was an exceptionally dark night, which suited Alan fine, it complimented his mood. He stared unseeingly down at his hands as he fidgeted with a small set of blank dog tags. A military man, he had experienced his fair share of danger in his time, mercenaries, terrorists, and still he had never been as terrified as he was now, not knowing the fate of his wife as she lay in the next room. It has seemed a good idea at the time, on shore leave with a new promotion and the extra credits that came with it, why not take his pregnant wife on holiday? Why not go to Italy? What could go wrong? Of course he couldn't have known that some idiot would wreck his ship and blanket the area with element zero. He also couldn't have known the effect it would have on his wife.

A sudden yell of pain caused him to flinch, moving to the door he opened it only to see the same attendant who had hurried him out of his wife's room not a hour before when the problems had begun.

"What's wrong?, why cant I be with her?", he asked, voice raised.

Catching the note of concern in his voice, the attendant replied, " Sir, it is standard practice that when complications arise that the family be removed. She is doing well, the element zero exposure has not given us the same amount of trouble that it has in other cases.

"Then why is she screaming?"

The attendant sighed, "Sir, she is giving birth-and for the first time, it is quite normal, as is your reaction. The doctors have informed me that she will be fine, please take a seat, I will come get you when the doctors allow it."

Seeing no way around it, he returned to the waiting room and sat down, head in his hands, after a few minutes he pulled the small set of dog tags out and again stared down at them. I need a name, He thought to himself.

**-1 hour later-**

"Sarah!" Nurses scrambled out of Alan's way as he practically ran to where his wife lay smiling.

"Alan, will you settle down? You've been harassing the staff for hours now, I've been told", Sarah's voice was soft but still no one could miss the humor in it. "Now enough about me, say hello to your boy".

With gentleness that belied his size, Alan lifted his newborn son in his arms. He's perfect, he thought, nothing about him gave any indication of the trail of his birth, the bright eyes of his son stared back as if examining him.

"Isn't he supposed to be crying now?" Alan asked.

"It is unusual but not unheard of", a nearby doctor said, "there is also no sign of any negative effects on the baby himself, which is incredibly rare considering the level of exposure your wife was subject to".

"So they will both be alright?"

The doctor smiled and nodded, "it's very fortunate, they will both be fine, we'll give your three some privacy."

"Sarah", he said turning back to her, "if its okay with you I think I've got a name for him."

She looked up at him questioningly.

"John Shepard."

* * *

**-22 May-2156-3:45PM-**

"Just shut up and just tell me what your on about."

Alan was nearing the end of his patience. It had barely been three months since he had left the military and his new business had taken off, there was enough credits coming in to allow a comfortable life for his family, thing were great...until recently. This man has been hanging around the store for a few day now and it was making him uneasy. Now he had come in and started talking some bullshit about 'insurance'.

"Look man im just sayin that this area can be a little unsafe, things tend to go down around here and as much as my organization tries we can't protect everyone around here. But we can give you some protection if your willing to help us out a little with expenses, I mean I'd hate it if something happened here man."

It suddenly dawned on Alan what this was about, "So if I don't pay these 'expenses' then I'll run into trouble here, is that what your saying?"

Not catching the dangerous even tone the man continued, "yeah you understand, things would go down without our protection, your store, your kid, your-

The rest was choked off as Alan's hand shot out with startling speed and grabbed hold of his throat, pulling him close Alan spoke in a quiet voice "Listen to me shit bag, you don't EVER threaten my family, if I ever see you again, I swear to god I'll put you in a hole." And with a shove he sent him stumbling out onto the street, then slammed the door behind him.

**-22 May-2156-7:30PM-**

It was an ancient movie, a relic of the late 1990's but it was a classic, which is the only reason it was still available in this day and age, and judging by his son's sleeping form, still an effective way to deal with unruly children. Alan looked down at his sleeping son, lying starfished out on the floor, his hair disheveled, he could only think of how hard it was going to be to get him home without waking him like he usually did, the small office at the back of the store was becoming a second bedroom to john.

"Thank god for lion king, otherwise he would never stop running around", Sara too had turned from her computer terminal to look at their son.

Alan smiled in agreement and turned back to his terminal, the sooner he finished, the sooner they could go home. The sound of shattering glass however stopped him,, "Sarah stay here, call the police and lock the door behind me." he said moving through the doorway.

Unfortunately stealth wasn't a strength for a man Alan's size and the vandals turned to face him before he could close in.

"You should have payed up, no body fucks with the Hounds", came a familiar voice. The same man who had been trying to extort money earlier that day walked forward, "and nobody fucks with me, we're going to teach you the rules of these streets", sneered and swung the bat at Alan's head.

Stepping inside the swing Alan seized him by the shirt and hammered his forehead into the mans nose and threw him into his friend as he tried to approach from the side. Turning to face the remaining gang members he said "you guys really don't want to do this".

With a roar the downed leader surged to his feet and tried to tackle Alan only to be downed again as Alan's fist cannoned off his jaw. Taking a few steps back he tried to look for anything to use to his advantage but there was nothing that his electronics shop could offer. Alerted by the telltale click of a pistol he dived to the side as a loud gunshot boomed. Moving quickly he continued to roll into a crouching position but realized they hadn't moved and were still staring in the direction he had shot. He risked a glance in that direction...and stopped dead.

Sarah leaned against the wall, her eyes staring down at the red stain spreading across the front of her blouse, a small sigh escaped her lips as she slumped down to the floor.

Time seemed to stand still for Alan, everything was quiet but the sound of his own breathing. All he could do was stare at Sarah's body, then everything went red. A bloodcurdling scream tore through the night, one he didn't realize he had made as he charged at the gang members, unnoticed, a pistol shot glanced off his shoulder. He slapped the pistol aside and delivered a sharp jab to his throat, crushing his windpipe, it all seemed in slow motion to him, tearing the gun from his grip he pushed is head down and slammed the pistol into hi stomach and pulled the trigger... once, twice, three times, he didn't keep count. He stopped when he felt something club him over the lift shoulder making him drop the gun.

Reaching out, his hands closed on the assailants shirt and he twisted to deliver a powerful kick between the legs, grabbing the hunched over figure by the head he gave it a sharp twist, the crack echoed throughout the store.

Suddenly he was forced to his knees and pain exploded in his back, his hands closed around the bat the now dead gang member had dropped, and he surged to his feet and swung it around, feeling it contact the next gang members head. Immediately he brained a fourth gang member on the reverse swing. He turned, looking for anything else to kill and felt a knife slide home into the right side of his chest, he reached out and grabbed the last gang member by the neck, squeezing with all the strength he had left, but he was out of breath and he strength was fading, he slammed his knee into the mans groin making his breath explode out, the mans knee went weak and he fell, Alan falling on top of him still squeezing.

Then it was over the mans eyes were wide open but unseeing. The world slammed back on him, he tried to stand but stumbled back to the ground, raising his head he saw Sarah slumped against the wall, he tried to move to her but she was so far away, his head fell to the ground and he heard sirens approaching, then silence.

**-A few minutes later-**

Officer Damon looked down on the scene before him, seven dead, five Black Hounds members by the look of them and the store owner and his wife, a robbery gone wrong it appeared. It was heart breaking, the man had obviously tried to crawl back to his wife and died before he could make it.

"Jesus, he killed all of them himself didn't he?", came a voice to his left.

"came at a high price", he replied moving to the wife.

He could hear something, it was quiet but there, opening the office door he saw a kid, 2 or three years old, asleep.

"Officer clark", he said into his head piece, "there's a little kid back here, asleep".

"Roger, do we have any ID yet?"

Bending down he looked at the boy on the floor, reaching out he gently picked up the dog tag around his neck.

"Yes, the kids name is John Shepard".

"


	2. Chapter 2

"Oww", John hissed as he jerked his hand away from a nearby pipe, _Metal doesn't like me,_ he thought to himself as he stared daggers at the offending pipe, his mood darkening. He was vaguely aware of the orphanage teacher droning away about...whatever she was talking about, to the ten year old boy it made little difference... it was boring...and he was hungry again.

A nearby boy snickered at him, aware that yet again John had shocked himself. Turning, he transferred his glare onto the smaller boy who shrunk away, distancing himself from John. At 5'4 ft John was one of the tallest kids in the orphanage and also one of the biggest, only the few teenage boys were as large as him but even they gave John wide berth, he had a reputation as unsocial and aggressive kid.

He felt a buzzing in his pocket and discreetly drew the small tear shaped device out, a gift from White face, it buzzed when he wanted to see John, which usually meant he had a job for him, in return they would give him food or credits to buy food, and for the constantly hungry boy it was an opportunity he rarely turned down.

"Miss!" he called out, thrusting his hand into the air, "Miss, I need to go to the toilet".

"John, whenever you go to the 'bathroom' you never return", she said looking down at him.

"But miss, I REALLY need to go!", John called knowing full well that she wouldn't try to stop him, she never did.

"Make sure you return this time john or next time you can just sit there and wet yourself", a few of the bolder kids laughed at this, but John didn't care, he could get them back later.

As he always did, he made his way to the bathroom and promptly jumped out the single window, a feat which was becoming increasingly hard for him as he got older. As he made his way to the nearby park he wondered what he would be doing this time, when White face had first contacted him he had john sneaking into peoples houses through ducts to steal or plant things, sometimes he wanted John to create a distraction, but lately john had learned to walk the streets more and keep an ear out, White face liked to know things and John was getting too big and old to do his old jobs. Coming to the entrance of the park he saw White face standing in the usual spot under the big tree but he wasn't alone, there was a bigger man with a red bandana around his head, they were obviously talking while they waited for him. Very curious now John walked onward.

* * *

"Why are we here again?", he heard Vince ask.

"Look, I know a kid who can help us out with this little raid", Will replied, impatience written on his pale face, "I've had him crawling through ducts for years, plus if things go south we can bail and no ones the wiser".

"That the kid?", Vince asked, seeing John approaching, "Shit man, will he even fit in the duct?".

"Yeah it'll be a squeeze, but we sure as hell can't, besides the kid never asks questions and does his shit right to the letter, and best of all he only ever wants food for the job so it cost us jack".

They both went quiet as the kid approached, he never thought to ask his name, he only ever called him 'Kid'. There was also another reason he wanted him on the job, the kid was smart, something rare for a street kid, and something the Reds could use, but it needed to done fast before anyone else could notice him, if he did good with this job then they'd take him in.

"You buzzed", the kid said standing in front of him with an expectant look on his face.

"Remember how you used to sneak through the ducts kid?" he asked.

"Yeah"

"Well your gonna be doing that again, this time you're your going to grab some packages that look like this", he said holding up a brick sized object, "and your gonna put em in this bag here, its got a cord on it so we can pull it up, then well chuck it down and do it again till we got all of em. My friends gonna distract the people inside but you still gotta be quiet ok?"

The kid closed his eyes and was quiet for a second as he always was when memorizing a plan, then he asked, "what do I get?".

"Pull this off kid, you don't have to worry about food again", Will said grinning.

The kid grinned back.

* * *

_Finally,_ John watched the last bag full slide up the air duct, it was a long job but there was nothing hard about it, just stack the packs in the bag like White face said, then give the bag two tugs and he pulls it up, there wasn't even that many packs. He looked up at the entrance to the air duct, it had been a tight fit but luckily John had been doing this for years and the difficulty had been lessened somewhat by experience.

He noticed a stray pack in the corner as he went to hoist himself into the duct, _Wonder why white face wants them so bad_, he thought picking it up, turning it over he couldn't see anything special about it, no marks or writing just grey plastic. Still curious he tore the corner open to peek inside and was rewarded with a face full of red dust. Covering his face with his sleeve he coughed and spluttered trying to clear the dust out of his throat.

He opened his eyes just in time to see a shadow fall over him, something smacked him across the head and he fell on the package causing another burst of red dust in his face.

"What the fuck are you doing?" a loud voice shouted.

He turned his head trying to avoid the choking, burning dust and saw a large man standing over him, a snarling dog face tattooed on his bare chest. The man picked him up and slammed him against the wall.

"What the fuck are you doing in here?" he shouted again, this time pulling a switch knife from his pocket.

John panicked, he flailed against the attacker but the man was bigger than him and his blows had little effect.

"Stop fuckin moving!"

But John only panicked more, the burning in his throat getting worse, he couldn't concentrate. Suddenly everything was tinged red, the mans eyes widened in surprise. There was a loud crunch as John's flailing arm came down on the attacker's causing the man to scream in pain, all John could see however was that his arm was on fire, _blue_ fire and it only served to panic him further, then everything disappeared into a red haze.

He was breathing hard when the haze subsided and could only stare dumbly at his shaky hands which were covered in sticky red gore. When he did manage to tear his gaze from his hands he was met with a worse sight, the body of the man lay on the ground in a puddle of blood, his chest caved in, ribs poking out at awkward angles, his face was unrecognizable, completely destroyed.

From beyond the door John could hear noises and he sprinted to the duct and scrambled inside, he could hear shocked voices echoing up the duct as they were confronted with the sight of their mutilated friend, desperately he wormed his way up the duct his blood covered hands slipping on the smooth duct walls.

* * *

"Where the fuck is that kid?" Vince hissed, impatient to be gone from Black Hounds territory. His job was done, he had distracted them, calling away men that may have otherwise walked in on the kid, the last of the red sand packages were in the back of their truck but the stupid kid still hadn't come up the duct yet. "Come on lets gap, they gonna find out soon!".

"Just another sec Vince". In truth Will was worried, he should've been up straight after the last bag full, the kid was always careful, which is why he preferred to use him over his other street kid contacts.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he heard thumping noises coming from the duct entrance, he stood up checking around to see if anyone was close enough to notice but snapped his head right back when he heard Vince exclaim "Holy Shit!".

There was nothing recognizable about the kid, covered from head to toe in almost black blood, his eyes were wide with fright as he stared at Will his whole body shaking.

"Fuck...Vince get in the truck, your driving" he said picking up the kid and jumping in the back.

* * *

**-Later that day-**

John sat on the small bed looking down at his now clean hands, he could just make out the loud music of the club above him. In truth he didn't remember how he had gotten here, he knew White face had near carried him down a set of dark stairs to a tattooed woman who had cleaned him up and left him in this room, but aside from that his memory was fragmented after going into that duct.

But he couldn't forget the blood and he couldn't forget the blue fire. _Was that magic?_ He clenched him fist...nothing, _how did I do it?_ He squeezed his eyes shut concentrating as hard as he could...nothing. He took a deep breath and squeezed them shut again, he peeked down at his hand...still nothing.

With a sigh he picked up the water bottle off the night stand and took a big gulp, then sat it back down and stared at it, what happened in there? He closed his eyes again and tried to piece together the memories, suddenly images popped into his mind-A small storage room, choking red dust clouds, a snarling black dog head splattered with blood, with a yelp he startled from his reverie hands flailing out as if to push the offending image away...and saw the bottle shoot across the room striking the far wall hard enough to bounce halfway back to him. He looked down at his hand and saw a the same blue flame fading away.

_Magic_, he thought to himself.


	3. Chapter 3

Thunk.

The medicine ball slammed against the plastercrete wall, the sound echoing through the dark alley, deep in the underbelly of the Sydney megalopolis.

Thunk.

Again it hit the wall rebounding two meters away only to halt shaking in the air, enveloped in a blue shimmering field.

Thunk.

It was getting harder to keep the ball suspended in the air, but he had come this far and he _would_ get better.

Thunk.

The shaking in his arm was getting worse, Sweat was now running freely down his back and neck. With a final grunt the ball slammed into the wall and rolled to a stop at his feet. He knew to stop now before he over exerted himself and caused another massive nose bleed.

He slumped down onto a small mattress and regarded his makeshift training ring, it had taken him a day of searching to find this place, somewhere where the poor avoided because of troublesome gang activity and the rich avoided like the plague because they didn't want to acknowledge that this near-slum could exist in their _perfect_ little city. It was a great place for him to practice his...he didn't know what to call it...but he definitely didn't want people to see.

Sighing he rose and made his way back down the alley, old white face wanted him back early tonight, apparently they were going to fleece some rich pricks place tonight. _Dunno why they need me for that, im not exactly a little sneaky kid anymore_. He shook off the thought, complaining would only get him a wack from the bouncers.

* * *

Will chose to sit in the darkest corner of the bar, it may be the cover for the Reds hideout but it was still a bar and this heist has been months in the making, he couldn't take chances.

Seven months. seven months they had been planning, gathering information, securing the help of unhappy employees and all of it leading up to tonight. He poured over his data pad running the plan over and over again in his mind trying to find any possible last minute improvements. When none came he turned his mind to the team, he had worked with them for years but he was still nervous about two of them. _Damn they're kids_ he thought rubbing his forehead, The first, Ash, while at 19 was not technically a kid, was still too young for comfort, _shit_, but no one else in the gang knew security systems like her.

The other was only known by his nick name-which was ironically, Red, whoever gave him the nickname probably thought it a cunning play on words. The kid sure made an impression when Will first brought him to the hideout four years ago, covered from head to toe in blood forever securing his nickname, they still didn't know what happened that day, the kid was probably too shaken to ever remember it. But shit the kid made himself useful, within a few months he had whipped every street kid for blocks into his own personal, surprisingly effective, information network. He didn't exactly know why but for some reason he felt that Red should be on this job as well. _Speaking of which_, he thought seeing the two emerge from the back making their way toward him. He chuckled to himself, the kid followed her around like a puppy sometimes-admittedly she was a very attractive girl, if Will was younger he would probably be chasing her himself, god knows she already had half the men twisted around her finger.

Red himself was a big kid, at only 14 years he was already pushing six foot and probably weighing 180 pounds which didn't surprise him considering how much the kid bloody well ate. Smiling he motioned for them sit.

"Red, Ash" He said by way of greeting.

"Will", Ash replied smiling as she flicked a strand of red hair off her face.

Red as always cut straight to the point. "So what are we doing tonight?".

A smile stretched over Will's pale face. "Tonight could be the most important night for the Reds, it has come to our attention that a nearby business is holding a lot of very fancy, very expensive equipment. We're gonna relieve them of it." He hunched the table and lowered his voice, " We pull this off and the Reds take our first steps towards getting off planet"

"So which business?" Red asked interested, his head cocked to the side.

"Accenture Industries, owned by Henry Lawson".

Red's eyes narrowed. _Ah so you know who he is eh_?. Bringing his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose Red said one word.

"Shit".

* * *

_So far so good_ Red thought to himself as he watched another Container of equipment being loaded into the bag of one of their hover trucks. They had gotten in without a hitch, literally driving in open gates, the guards conspicuously absent. _Its too easy_ he thought, Something felt off to him, he might be young but he had a sixth sense for trouble and he could feel that familiar itch at the back of his neck which signified just that.

"Hey Ash" He said, keeping his voice low, "is everything alright in the system? something doesn't feel right".

"Everything looks fine" She said frowning down at her omnitool, " But your right, Will has been planning this for sometime but something feels wrong, too well planned".

"Yeah, im just going to look around for a sec",he said moving off towards odd looking crates towards the side of the storage facility.

_Hello, what's this?_ he thought, looking down at the pressure sealed cannisters marked Minagen X3.

Suddenly the alarms sounded, their blaring whine echoing throughout the factory, somewhere from within the facility itself he could hear the sound of gunfire.

* * *

_Just as planned_ thought the young woman watching the hacked security feed on her omnitool. It had been easy to feed information to the 10th street Reds posing as an unhappy employee, _As if employees could do all this,_ and surprisingly easy to get the security away from their posts. She slipped a stolen pistol into her pocket, if all went well then she wouldn't need it, she'd be free with her sister and the Reds would get a fortune in stolen equipment, everyone would be happy...aside from her father...but that was the point, she was going to hit him where it hurt.

And if things go wrong...well that's why the Reds are here.

Taking a light breaths she snuck down the hall finally coming to the lab. _easy_ she though as she hacked the door, she made her way to the large machines over at the rear of the room and placed a bagful of packages and wires underneath the largest of the machines, In the near pitch dark she could just make out the words 'High explosive'. _Take this you bastard_.

Next she moved to the computer terminals and inserted a data card into the computer, _and this_.

Hacking the door again she made sure it wouldn't open for anyone, then she carefully made her way to the next room.

"Come on Ori, we're going now" she whispered soothingly, lifting the baby in her arms despite the fact she was already sedated, wrapping the baby up in another blanket she made her way to the elevator.

_Home free_, she thought as the elevator doors opened at the final floor. She looked down at Oriana still asleep in her arms, so peaceful despite the fact she was being kidnaped. _Not kidnaped-Rescued!_ She thought angrily, _he's not going to control your life too_. As quickly as possible she moved towards the entrance lobby, and right into view of the armed men walking in. _Shit, it's the bastard himself_, she though spinning back behind a nearby pillar drawing her pistol in one smooth motion, cradling Oriana to her chest with her left hand.

"Miranda, just what do you think you're doing?" Came the authoritative voice of Henry Lawson.

"Oh nothing, I was just leaving". She said pushing a button on her omnitool. Suddenly the lights went dull red and the alarms sounded. Taking a deep breath her corona flared, she spun, making sure to keep Oriana behind the pillar, and hurled a shockwave of biotic energy, knocking them from their feet. Turning she sprinted towards the Storage factory. _Time for Plan B_.

* * *

_Fuck_ Red thought, hearing the sound of gun fire, he turned to see the rest of the team pulling their pistols, _damn,_ Old white face even had an avenger rifle, w_here the hell did he get that_? He realized he was yelling at him and pointing behind him.

He spun around only to see probably the most beautiful girl he had ever seen running towards him cradling a bundle of blankets. The absurdity of the situation left him just staring dumbly at the approaching girl, suddenly shots rang out behind her. Their eyes locked for a moment just before he was thrown to the ground as the nearby minagen canisters ruptured under the stray gunfire.

A red mist enveloped him, familiar yet so much more intense, his eyes and throat burned like never before, he couldn't see through the red haze, inhaling brought no oxygen, only pain. Suddenly a strong push send him sliding across the floor, free of the choking red mist he sucked in great lung fulls of air and opened his eyes to an unusual sight, the girl continued to run past, still cradling the bundle, glowing blue just like he did when he used his..._magic_? But what was really strange was that everything was so _bright_...and he felt totally euphoric.

He rose smoothly-or rather he felt it was smooth, to those watching he staggered almost drunkenly to his feet- and faced the pursuing men. There was an audible thunder like crack accompanied by a enormous blue wave and the men were thrown with bone jarring force into the wall behind them.

Red's euphoria redoubled, a pleasant rush spread throughout his body, he felt joyous yet scared and almost...aroused? Another man rushed at him, firing rounds which bounced harmlessly off the blue light that engulfed his body, only to be slammed into the wall with a sickening crack.

He let out a near hysterical sounding laugh while throwing yet another helpless guard into the air, _I am a GOD!_

"RED!", somewhere is the distance a voice shouted at him, _what a voice!_

"RED!", a hand grabbed at his shoulder.

He spun and found himself staring into familiar green eyes, her beautiful face framed by her red hair. "Heya Ash!" he said loudly, she was continuing to shout something at him but he had found a sudden fascination with her lips and it all flew over his head.

With an exasperated sigh she grabbed his sleeve and near dragged him towards the last hover truck. Red stumbled along behind her, his attention moved onto the way her hair moved while she ran, by the time his attention moved away he found himself in the back of a truck. And he was( tired). He felt something warm running over his chin and lifted his hand to wipe it, he looked down at his now blood covered hand. _Aw man_ he thought as his world went black.

* * *

Miranda sat in the stolen skycar, she took a deep breath trying to stop the shaking. She looked over to Oriana still sleeping peacefully, unaware of the danger they had been in. Fortunately plan B had gone well, the Reds had done a wonderful job of distracting her pursuers. She thought about that young boy who had been with the reds, it had surprised her when after she gave him a biotic push out of the suffocating minagen cloud he had staggered to his feet and launched his own attack to at her pursuers with power rivaling a biotic artillery strike, _what the hell is a biotic doing with the Reds_?. She wondered briefly who he was, then stopped herself. She'd never see him again anyway.

She pulled over and set down on a rooftop parking lot overlooking the Sydney megalopolis and looked over towards the Accenture Industries complex. It had been her home for her whole life, 18 years of pushing, prodding, being made to meet impossible demands. She was shaking again now, this time with anger. Henry Lawson had a god complex and he wouldn't stop in pursuit of his 'dynasty'.

Her omnitool flared up and she punched in the activation codes releasing the powerful virus into her fathers systems, it would wipe every last piece of data on his 'dynasty' project, the backup data having already been destroyed by her weeks earlier.

With a grim smile she pulled a small metal device from her pocket and flicked the cap off, she took another deep breath and pushed the red button...and watched as a massive explosion tore through the laboratory wing.

_Replace us now you son of a bitch_.


	4. Chapter 4

**-November 13/ 2168-**

Ash sat staring over the Sydney megalopolis from a park bench next to the saint john's orphanage. She had always liked parks, they were so..._natural_, it gave her a sense of safety and that was a feeling she had been lacking for the past few days, ever since the heist at Accenture industries.

She shivered at the memories, it had been going very smoothly aside from a lingering feeling that it was too easy but she could put that down to a natural paranoia that all street kids develop at a young age. When the alarms sounded she had been sure they had been lured into a trap, they had all pulled their weapons, old and shitty as they may have been, but there were no police immediately moving in on them.

When the explosion sounded it had shocked her, almost causing her to discharge her pistol right then and there, she had spun around just in time to see Red's prone form disappear in that red mist, he must have been right next to whatever exploded. A girl no older than she came running out from the main lobby, she had been carrying something but Ash couldn't make out what from that distance. She did...something... that sent Red sliding out of the fog but as strange as that was it was totally lost in the events that followed.

She had rushed to get to Red as he had staggered to his feet, even as far away as she was she could see him grinning an idiotic grin, she could tell he was stoned, whatever the mist was it had to be a drug of some sort. The air had seemed to shimmer around him for a second, then it ignited, unnatural blue flames covered him causing Her to stop dead in her tracks. Red hadn't even noticed them, he just kept grinning off into the distance, she had turned to see what had his attention and saw men, _armed_ men rushing at him, they must've been chasing the girl but whoever she was she had already disappeared. She was stunned when thunder seemed to sound around her, there was a wave of blue light and the men were thrown from their feet slamming into walls and ground with bone breaking force...and Red was _laughing_.

She had been terrified, she wanted to bolt but she couldn't just leave him there, after all the time he had spent following her around he had grown on her. She shouted his name, he didn't respond, she shouted at him again and grabbed his shoulder. "Heya Ash!" he had practically shouted at her, eyes wide, his pupils enormous, he was high as a kite.

"Come on Red, we need to go, Wills not going to keep waiting!" she had shouted pointing towards the last remaining hover truck. It didn't do any good, he had phased out already, he had just stood there grinning down at her. It seemed to take forever but she managed to pull him to the truck, luckily Vince was there to drag him inside just in time for him to pass out bleeding from the nose. She had looked up just as they pulled away and seen a well dressed man watching angrily. She knew who he was, it was Henry Lawson himself, and he had seen _her_.

She took a deep breath coming back to the present, she looked over the mostly intact ruins of the Accenture industries complex, she didn't know how the place had exploded but she knew it would be pinned on them as well. Lawson was smart and he was rich, he would find out who they were and when he did he would hunt them down, no police force, no it would be his own people and they would kill us all. _I can't stay here_ she thought, _but i can't just walk away from the Reds, they wouldn't let me. I need somewhere to go_. she sighed, _but where?_.

* * *

**-December 12/ 2170-**

Red sat at the bar, beer in hand. He wasn't at the legal age to be drinking there but no one thought to question him, at 6'1 and two hundred-odd-pounds no one was in any mood to try enforce the law. He didn't fancy the thought of getting drunk alone, it usually lead to fights, but he didn't do so well when it came to making friends, Vince and old white face were busy more often now, managing the ever growing gang. Ever since the job at Accenture industries they had the resources to throw around. The most surprising thing about the job was that there was no apparent backlash from Lawson despite the fact that the job had gone south.

The boss had also found out about Red's unique ability, and he was quick to put him to use. Apparently he was something called a biotic, that's what Vince had said anyway, Red still didn't have the slightest idea what it meant but it was reassuring to know that he wasn't a total freak. In the two years since then the 10th street Reds had used him to brutally muscle out the competing gangs, it was good practice for him, he found it easy to push things around with this _biotic_ power but moving things properly and accurately was pretty much beyond him, he couldn't..._hold_...it for long.

He sighed deeply and took another swig, he hadn't seen Ash in over two years, she had left without a trace a few days after the Accenture industries job. He couldn't blame her though, after two years of growth the Reds were the most powerful gang around, they were on the verge of moving off world, if he wanted anything he only had to ask...but still this life was beginning to chafe at him, he didn't _like_ it and he didn't know why. He looked glumly down at his beer, _the answers probably at the bottom of this cup_.

* * *

**-December 12/2170- -Arcturus station-**

"At ease Lieutenant" came the strong and authoritative voice of Rear Admiral Whitelock, "Take a seat if you will".

Still uneasy Lieutenant Jershon Wihongi opted to take the offered seat, you don't simply decline a request from an admiral, especially when you are in a private meeting with an unclear agenda. He had been replaying the events of the past few weeks in his mind trying to find some reason as to why he should be summoned by a admiral, as best he could tell he hadn't done anything to deserve reprimand nor had he done anything to deserve promotion, he was at a complete loss.

"Obviously you're wondering why the hell you are here", the admiral said, and amused glint in his eye as he observed his unease. "You are a graduate of the N7 program, you have quite a list of commendations and are a veteran of the first contact war. We are here because of the latter". He paused letting the words sink in, "from all reports you showed great aptitude when you and your small team took down a Turian Cabal team, in fact you and your team later gained a reputation on both sides for hunting down almost every turian biotic to touch down on Shanxi. This is why you have been summoned".

"Am I in trouble for this then Admiral?" Jershon asked, still unsure what the Admiral was getting at.

"Far from it lieutenant, we are in fact in need of your talents." he paused, pouring out two glasses of water, sliding one over to Jershon he continued, "we have for a while now known of the biotic potential in humans, the problem being that there are too few of them able or willing to serve in the Alliance which is where we want them. The Alliance has done a reasonably good job of tracking those who may be biotic capable and recently word has filtered up through the brass from your home city Sydney. There has been an enormous increase in criminal activity of late from one gang in particular, These 10th street Reds have gone from being a relatively obscure gang to the largest in Australia in less then six years, mostly by absorbing the resources of surrounding gangs and stealing from very wealthy businessmen. To cut a long story short it is believed that there is a powerful biotic in this gang." he paused again allowing the lieutenant to absorb it all.

"Now six years ago a potentially biotic capable boy disappeared from Saint John's orphanage, the exact date coinciding with a brutal and unusual murder of a gang member, circumstantial evidence would point to the boy being involved. We believe that this boy-John Shepard- to be the biotic in question."

"So what is it I am doing?" Jershon asked.

"We need you to work in conjunction with the local law enforcement, you are perhaps the best equipped to tackle a biotic and we need you to bring him in, if even half of what we hear is true then we want him ".

"And he will join. Just like that?"

The Admiral chuckled, "Lieutenant, he will join because the alternative is prison, besides his father was a marine before he died, maybe blood will run true. Now transport has been arranged and you are to leave tomorrow at 0600 hours station time".

Later sitting on a bed in his small quarters Jershon regarded the profile for this Shepard kid, it was not much to go on. Name-John Shepard, age-16, location...Sydney megalopolis...as if that helped, the list from thereon was completely useless. So basically he was being tasked to find a kid with no known family or friends, no definite location and all he knew about him was that he had the ability to kill him with his mind. Fortunately he liked a challenge.


	5. Chapter 5

It was another cloudy night over Sydney, the city itself was very well lit as were all the giant super cities of earth, however there were always dark shady areas where the less virtuous citizens plied their trade. A tall lone man stood waiting while whistling a tune, his face mostly obscured by the hood of his black jumper, slowly his hand dipped into his pocket and drew out a small credit chit with which he used to scratch his nose, it was a subtle signal but one that he was used to performing.

From somewhere in the night came another whistle, a familiar tune and one he had heard many times over the past few weeks, without missing a beat he replied whistling the same tune back. From an alleyway on the opposite side of the street another man emerged, he wore old torn jeans and a overly large jumper, the red bandana tied to his sleeve identified him as a member of the Reds.

The gang member paused in front of him taking the offered chit, wordlessly he pressed a small bag into the now empty hand and snuck a peek under the mans hood, even in the dim light he could make out the red tinge of the mans teeth as he smiled down at the bag, he was definitely a duster. Continuing on as if nothing had taken place he went back down his alley, returning to whence he came.

The moment the gang member disappeared from sight the tall mans demeanor changed, his back straightened, his chest puffed out and his now clear and focused eyes took in every detail around him. He ran his tongue across his teeth, disgusted at the taste of the dye he had used. Dropping the bag of red sand, he kicked it into the nearby storm drain as he did every time and followed the gang member.

It was a simple case of keeping to the shadows and keeping your footsteps light, Stewie the red sand dealer was a cocky son-of-a-bitch and didn't even consider the possibility that he was being followed, he was an easy mark for lieutenant Wihongi to pursue. Climbing up onto a nearby balcony he watched as Stewie entered the back alley behind a bar the 10th street reds were quite fond of, he suspected that the bar was a front for the Reds themselves but that was a problem for the police not him, he was here for the kid.

_And right on time,_ he thought as a the kid emerged from the bar, as punctual as he had been for the past few weeks Jershon had been observing. Slowly he eased a medium sized metal case out of his satchel and flicked it open, not taking his eyes off the pair as they conversed he retrieved the device from the case and pushed a small button on it's side, almost silently servos clicked and the small rifle unfolded itself next to his head, still keeping his eyes of the pair he drew a small dart from his pocket and slid it into the rifle's chamber.

He was certain now that this was the kid he was looking for, the one they referred to as Red, he briefly wondered if it was someone's idea of a pun to nickname him Red while he was in a gang know as the 10th street Reds, he smiled to himself, _they sure do breed em smart out here_ he thought sarcastically. The kid was a big sucker, must've been pushing 6'2 and with bulk that rarely went with taller people. _Damn I'm going to have trouble carrying him back_, he thought watching him through the scope.

* * *

Red took a deep breath of the cold night air, another night managing the red sand ring had put him in a sour mood. He hated the drug, just being around it brought on bad memories, he was only temporarily in charge, the previous head dealer was arrested a week ago which surprised everyone, something was making the police bolder than usual and Red was uneasy about this.

Deciding to call it a night he made his way down the street towards his small apartment, he was halfway down the street when the hairs on his neck stood straight and the familiar itch flared up. He glanced over at a window on his left and in the moonlit reflection something (moved). He threw himself to the ground, something small and fast breaking the air where he had stood a moment ago striking the hardened window with enough forces to rebound meters away, Then adrenalin kicked in and he bolted, tearing through the night.

Whoever was following was faster than Red was and he could hear the pursuer gaining on him, he rounded the corner of an alleyway which ran parallel to his apartment and snatched up the pipe he left there specifically for occasions like this. Pressing himself to the wall he waited as his pursuer approached, (3...2...1), he took a deep breath and swung the pipe backhanded into where the pursuer's head should be.

The faint glint of silver in the moonlight gave Jershon a split second of warning, he ducked into a roll hearing the metallic clang as the pipe struck the plastercrete wall. He rose just in time to see the kid swing the pipe at him again, he was fast but untrained and no match for a marine let alone an N7, Jershon slapped away the kid's arm mid-swing and delivered a sharp punch to his solar plexus, as the kid doubled over Jershon delivered another blow with the heel of his hand to the back of the kid's head, right where the implant would be, it was a dirty trick and one that would stun and render biotics useless.

He was halfway through the strike when he realized his mistake...there was _no_ implant, He had a moment to wonder how the hell to the kid could use biotics without an implant before he was hit with a biotic push that sent him stumbling back, his head striking the wall painfully. He felt a powerful kick catch him in the stomach and barely managed to move his head out of the way as a glowing blue fist smashed into the wall breaking off chunks of plastercrete. He snapped his head forward, his forehead catching the Red's nose forcing him back a step, he struck two more quick blows to his stomach then grabbed the kid's outstretched arm and threw him over his hip where he landed in a heap gasping for air.

He knelt and grabbed Red by the scruff of his jumper and pressed a small knife against his neck, he had no intention of using it, but the kid didn't know that, it would keep him from doing anything rash.

"Fuck you pig" Red gasped, having barely recovered his breath.

"I'm not police kid" Jershon snapped, releasing his jumper he flipped him onto his stomach.

"Then who the fuck are you?"

"Lieutenant Wihongi, Alliance marines. You're in deep shit kid, luckily for you some important people are offering you a way out". Quickly Jershon pulled a second dart.

"What do they want fro-" Red was interrupted as Jershon jabbed the dart into his neck.

"They want you in the Alliance kid" he said as Red drifted into unconsciousness, "and I can see why".

* * *

**Author's note**

For those who don't know, The term** Duster **is used to refer to red sand addicts.

These addicts can be identified by the red staining on the front of their teeth. I believe this was stated in the ME: ascension novel?


End file.
